Solidarity Song is a new single from The Castlebuilder. This jam is an instant indie classic. Featuring the kind of eerily delightful chord changes that make you feel all funny inside, this song reminds me of a lot of great tracks from the early 2000s. The vocals are really stellar. They’re passionate and more on-key than almost anything I’ve ever heard in this genre. Production quality is on point and the mix is full and all-encompassing, especially considering the minimalist nature of the recording (it’s basically just guitars and vocals.) I love this song. Imagine how great it would sound on freshly printed vinyl.
Annie is a new single from the Jeff Michaels Band (off the album Better When I’m Older). The strength of Jeff’s vocals is immediately apparent and carries this track a long way. He has a really great voice, both from a technical perspective and just his overall natural tone, which seems tailor made for this style of music. Featuring bright guitars and a clean professional mix, this song seems like it’s ready for the big leagues. I could see this being used in commercials, as it seems to hit all the right emotional marks for that market. While the song starts off rather mellow, it builds into a surprisingly rocking climax. Anyway, it’s clear this guy has the chops to make it big. This song is already pretty much there.
A Week Ago is a new single from Tampa-based collaborative project, Phantom Phunk. The track creatively combines elements of hip hop, funk, and R&B to create a vivacious and cutting edge sound. Featuring a variety of vocalists and zestful layers, somehow everything comes together cohesively. Solid vocals drive the action, only occasionally to be upstaged by some ultra cool synths. The backing music is fresh and melodic, with a beat that oscillates between minimalist and full-throttled. The intro is pretty far out and not what I was expecting. It really grabs your attention. These artists have successfully demonstrated how you can create an “experimental” song that’s still mainstream friendly and approachable.
Dope is a new EP from James Aubrey 3 Experience. Though it was only released a week or two ago, the album has already amassed more than 50k streams. The songs chronicle the ordeal he went through as a military recruit, where he was allegedly the victim of a scam and ended up being sentenced to jail for 3 months (he wrote a book about the whole experience as well). He definitely has spent some time cultivating his skills. James has a lively and charismatic delivery style and has mastered the ability to transform his vocals into an instrument in their own right. In addition to demonstrating a solid R&B-style singing ability, he also creatively employs vocal layering to give the tracks a multi-dimensional and reflective conversational feel. The backing music is vibrant, upbeat and ethereal. Lyrically speaking, there’s a lot of substance here, as James Aubrey 3 really does convey a detailed narrative of what he went through.
However, he comes off as surprisingly positive and resilient, and the energetic tone of the music reflects this. It’s worth nothing also that James Aubrey 3 is a signed professional drummer (Soultone Cymbals, Collision Drum Sticks & SJC Drum Customs). Dope is a dynamic 21st century released, fueled by the time-tested combo of technical skill and pure passion.
The Valentine Sessions is a new album from Seattle based Folk/Americana duo, BackYard Living. The group is comprised of highly experienced musicians, Kelly Kristjanson (guitar/drums) and Vicki Ault (violin). These two artists met in 2005 while taking a songwriting course at the University of Washington. Vicki, a retired music school teacher, has some impressive credentials, having backed up iconic musicians such as Kenny G and Luciano Pavarotti in live performances. For his part, Kelly Kristjanson has many solo releases under his belt and a long history of successful musical endeavors. Kelly and Vicki also worked together previously on the album, Granite Falls in 2007.
As you may or may not have guessed, The Valentine Sessions were mostly recorded live on Valentine’s Day (though some parts were added later). It should also be noted that although this is group is a duo, banjo player Lyle Ronglien performs on the track Pike Place Market, (named after a local Seattle tourist attraction). The Valentine Sessions is scheduled to be officially released this Fall.
The album’s first single, Pike Place Market, is awesome, and the banjo gives it a bit of an “Old West” vibe. I could easily have seen this track being used in classic Clint Eastwood films like Every Which Way But Loose. Another stand out entry on this album is Thunderbird, which is carried by Vicki’s stellar violin play. I’m not sure if it’s an effect or what, but the tone of the violin also strikes me as vaguely futuristic and surprisingly rocking. Everything has its place in a recording, but make no mistake, Vicki’s violin is the magic ingredient in at least a few of these tracks. The vocals have that classic folk quality. Kelly is a solid singer, and his voice is just rough enough around the edges to work with this genre. My favorite performance of his is on Puerto Rico, a genuinely powerful song that really pays homage to the place. The emotional aspect is subtle, but you can still feel it. Little Dove is another notable jam. It has some nice hooks, a long runtime and one of the catchier choruses. Overall, this is a very heartfelt, “earthy” and sincere album, made by veteran artists who demonstrate great artistic synergy.
After Geography is a new (and fourth) album from Forest Robots (the musical project of Francisco Dominquez). This artist has managed to crank out high quality releases at an impressively prolific pace, and his latest one is no exception. The album title was inspired by an anecdote where Ringo Starr once jokingly suggested that the Beatles should name their next album After Geography to follow the Rolling Stones’ recent record, Aftermath. However, when reading this old story, Francisco found the title to be genuinely fascinating and thought the phrase was be a good fit for his nature-oriented, ethereal musical content.
The songs on this album are mostly piano-driven and minimalist, but with the ambient backing, still manage to have a full, satisfying sound. There’s a little bit more mystery than on previous Forest Robots releases. The tracks have a delicate, almost intimate quality to them. While the pacing is extremely modest, I wouldn’t call it mellow, because there’s a subtle, underlying suspense that keeps you on your toes. Songs like Glacial Architecture Of The Mountain Corridor remind me a bit of the sort of exploration music you’d hear in a vintage adventure video game, where you might be navigating your way through a fun little forest, yet know there might be something unexpected around the next corner. That particular track is probably my favorite tune on here.
One aspect of this music I really appreciate is how organic and “alive” it sounds. It isn’t just wall to wall cinematic soundscapes templated for big budget movie theater surround sound. For example, Imagining August 1976, Here has a warm, analog vibe and contains delicious audio intricacies and artifacts. In this way, Forest Robots captures not just the spirit of “being outdoors,” but the actual sound of experiencing something real and tangible.
The final track All Across The High Plain After The Storm is probably one of the more musically sparse jams, but I found the piano to have a rather charming, “opera house” aura. It also only starts off minimalist, as it slowly building toward an epic, wonderland finish.
After Geography certainly lived up to the high expectations I’ve developed for this artist. You can tell he puts everything he’s got into constructing these recordings. When you listen to them collectively, they really do psychically take you on a mountaineering journey or leave you feeling like you just wandered through an untamed wilderness.
Neva Had is a new track from Southern hip hop outfit, COUNTRY CUZZINS. This fresh track moves at a lighting quick pace, with impressive performances all around. Vocal delivery is tight with the beat, and you just get the sense these guys have spent years perfecting their craft the old fashioned way, just rhyming with their friends and working hard. Rather than flashy production, we’re treated to some genuine skill here. Lyrically, there’s a lot of talk about money (and plenty of it being thrown around). One nice thing about this song is that the rappers each have their own distinctive styles and voices, which gives things a multi-dimensional feel. The video for this jam has great quality footage and repeatedly features one of the coolest looking mini-marts I’ve ever laid my eyes on.
Zones is a new single from artist, Ryan Ley. This avant garde release has a classic and authentically indie sound. Featuring analog warmth and subtle tape hiss, this track has an organic, Lo-Fi appeal. Incorporating a hodgepodge of sound samples and snippets into the beat, makes this functionally a danceable collage. This song manages to take the listener on an unpredictable, wild and quite pleasant ride even with its brief 2:06 runtime. This guy has a knack for scavenging interesting sounds and piecing them together effectively to create a coherent ambiance. The best way I can describe it is it’s like if you combined something like Tommy James and the Shondells’ Crystal Blue Persuasion with 90’s house jams and left an old TV on in the background. This is great stuff, right up my alley.
Visions is a new single from artist, Casper Sun. Partially inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, this zesty summertime single seeks to remind us of the dreams we have to look forward to. The song is bright, upbeat and energetic. It’s like a ray of synth-pop sunshine with some groovy guitar action in the mix. It starts off kind of mellow, and for a moment I assumed it might be some kind of nature/folk tune. Then the beat kicks in, and you realize just how psychically powerful this jam is. The beautiful hooks and chord changes make this track an instant pop classic. Casper Sun’s got the right voice for this sentimental style of music, and he’s not afraid to spice things up a bit in the lyrical department. This is an excellent song any way you slice it.
UP NEXT is a single from Shreveport-based hip hop artist, RayDaYungin. Born in 2010, this prodigious young performer demonstrates a solid grasp of the fundamentals and some slick dance moves. The chorus is catchy, and the track has all the ingredients of a mini-hit. The delivery and timing are on point, and this dude clearly is a natural showman. Production on the track is label quality, with sonic clarity and a nice clean mix. He claims that his main influences are Da Baby, NLE Choppa, Roddy Rich. It’s important to remember that this kid is only around 10 years old, and his skills are more advanced than some rappers 3 times his age. Talent-wise, he’s got a head start and just needs to stick with this. It’s a cool jam.
